6-Year-Old Spots Rusty Object On School Trip In Norway, Turns Out To Be Ancient Sword

A simple school trip in Norway turned into an extraordinary moment when a young student made a rare historical discovery hidden beneath the ground, reported NYPost. A six-year-old schoolboy, Henrik Refsnes Mortvedt, discovered a 1,300-year-old sword during a class trip in Norway's Innlandet county. The child noticed a rusty object sticking out of the ground while walking across a field with his classmates.

Instead of removing the object themselves, the students and teachers informed local archaeologists to avoid damaging what could be an important artefact.

Identified As Pre-Viking Era Weapon

Experts later confirmed that the object was a single-edged sword from Scandinavia's Merovingian Period, which dates from around 550 to 880 AD. This period came just before the well-known Viking Age.

After being carefully removed, the sword was sent to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, where it will undergo further study and conservation.

Although the sword is heavily corroded, researchers believe modern techniques such as X-rays and metallurgical analysis can help reveal more about its design and use.

According to reports, the weapon may have belonged to a warrior, a high-status farmer, or someone living during the early medieval period in Norway.

The discovery took place in Hadeland, a region in southeastern Norway known for its rich history. The area has long attracted archaeologists due to its fertile land, ancient farms, burial mounds and remains from the Iron Age.

This is not the first time such a discovery has been made in the region. In 2018, an eight-year-old found a 1,500-year-old pre-Viking sword while swimming in a lake in Sweden.